1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a patch for pain treatment and relieving, and more particularly, to an electronic low-frequency pulse patch of a one-piece structure having a simple structure in which electronic circuitry and mechanical appearance are formed integrally, being adapted to be attached to a human body and being bendable. This electronic low-frequency pulse patch of a one-piece structure can be applied to various electronic patches for treating or relieving pain.
2. Description of Related Art
A feeling of aching pain often arises after one has worked for an extended period of time or has taken strenuous exercises. According to a lot of information that had been verified or disclosed by documents published at home and abroad as well as by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of America, low-frequency pulses are effective in treating or relieving the pain, although this will not be further described herein. For this reason, most of low-frequency massage pads available in the market comprise a piece of conductive fabric intended to make contact with a human body and a function selection controller electrically connected to the conductive fabric via a conductive wire. However, use of the conductive wire causes inconveniences in use; even further, use of the conductive wire imposes a limitation on the distance from a user to a host machine, making it inconvenient to use when the patient is positioned at a certain distance from the host machine.
Furthermore, such a low-frequency massage pad with a function selection controller and a piece of conductive cloth is relatively costly to manufacture because it is provided with a plurality of frequency control functions; and the function selection controller has a certain volume, which makes it inconvenient for the user to carry the massage pad for use. As a consequence, it is difficult to put such a low-frequency massage pad into practical use.
Accordingly, a kind of wireless portable low-frequency treatment unit has been developed. For example, an electronic acupuncture and moxibustion device of a quick-attachment structure is disclosed in Taiwan Patent No. 246840, according to which a hard plastic enclosure is used to assemble batteries and an output circuit (portion) therein and is then joined to a conductive patch by means of a metallic fastener. However, the human body has different curvature at different sites, so the hard enclosure must be made separately from the patch and then, by means of the metallic fastener, fixed to the conductive patch before the device as a whole is attached to a specific site on the human body. This is very inconvenient, adds to the implementation complexity and discourages the user from using such a device, making it difficult to put such a device into practical use. Furthermore, as it requires use of a lot of elements, the manufacturing cost is increased. Moreover, difficulty in bending the metallic fastener makes it inconvenient to operate by the user.
To solve the afore-mentioned problems, a conventional electronic low-frequency pulse patch of a one-piece structure has been proposed. Referring to FIG.1, there is shown an exploded structural view of the conventional electronic low-frequency pulse patch of a one-piece structure. As shown, the conventional electronic low-frequency pulse patch of a one-piece structure 10 comprises a flexible top cover body 11 as an enclosure, in which a first receiving space 12 and a second receiving space 13 are formed. The first receiving space 12 has a power supply unit 14 disposed therein to supply power necessary for operation of the electronic low-frequency pulse patch of a one-piece structure 10 that is flexible and water proof. Above the power supply unit 14 inside the first receiving space 12 is disposed a first push switch 15 configured to control operation of the power supply unit 14. Below the power supply unit 14 is disposed a first pole low-frequency output unit region 17. The second receiving space 13 is disposed with a support structure 16 in the internal thereof, and a second push switch 151 is disposed on the support structure 16 for controlling the operation of the support structure 16. Moreover, a second pole low-frequency output unit region 18 is disposed under the support structure 16. Between the first pole low-frequency output unit region 17 and the second pole low-frequency output unit region 18 is disposed a flexible ribbon cable assembly 19 adapted to establish electrical connection between the first pole low-frequency output unit region 17 and the second pole low-frequency output unit region 18. Below the flexible top cover body 11 is covered a coupling output conductive flexible film 20 made of polyester (PET). In the coupling output conductive flexible film 20 are formed a first opening 201 and a second opening 202 disposed corresponding to the first pole low-frequency output unit region 17 and the second pole low-frequency output unit region 18 respectively so that specific portions of the first pole low-frequency output unit region 17 and the second pole low-frequency output unit region 18 are exposed through the first opening 201 and the second opening 202. Hence, the specific portions of the first pole low-frequency output unit region 17 and the second pole low-frequency output unit region 18 can be electrically coupled with a first pole coupling conductive patch 21 and a second pole coupling conductive patch 22 and also can be attached to the user's skin to perform low-frequency massage thereon.
During use of such an electronic low-frequency pulse patch of a one-piece structure 10 on a human body, damage, poor contact and even open-circuit tend to occur to the flexible ribbon cable assembly 19 of the patch 10 due to frequent bending to conform to the human body's curvature or due to pulling or bending by an external force, causing failure of the electronic low-frequency pulse patch of a one-piece structure 10. Therefore, it is difficult to put such a patch into practical use. Moreover, design of such a patch does not allow for replacement of the batteries, and once power of the batteries runs out, the patch will no longer be of use, which is very inconvenient for the user.
As described above, efforts have to been made to provide a wireless portable low-frequency treatment device that can eliminate need of using any metallic fastener to join the host unit and the conductive patch into an integrally formed flexible water-proof structure and can present prolonged service life.